Union Steel minister Beni Prasad Verma Saturday came down heavily on SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi, saying the “match is fixed” between the parties as they are holding rallies on the same day in UP. Beni also asserted his position in the party in UP, saying he is Congress’s third person in UP after Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

“I have received information that (BJP UP in-charge) Amit Shah drafted the contents of speeches made by Modi and Mulayam (made on January 23, in Gorakhpur and Varanasi respectively),” Beni alleged. “It is some sheer ‘coincidence’ that their rallies are being held on the same day,” he said. He said the aim of this is to show the fight is between these two parties in UP. Beni alleged Shah was playing the role of a “coordinator” and “that is why he was brought to UP.” Beni alleged the two parties want to polarise and share the votes between them in UP.